Name: Mette Smedegaard Hansen
Date of birth: 3rd of August 1968
Title: Corporate Affairs Director
Company: Nature Energy
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and Bachelor of Business Economy (Graduate Diploma in Organisation and Change Processess), SDU, Odense
Fun fact: I brought my 5-week-old daughter to a job interview
What do you find most interesting about your career and your leadership position?
I am leading people by being me, showing confidence in people around me and leading by example instead of by words. And always remember: Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.
What has been crucial to get you to where you are today?
Good people believing in me. My family and home base. A bit of luck and good timing. And of course, my curiosity for taking myself to new places – physically and mentally.
Tell us about a female role model and the impact they had on you – either personally or professionally?
My absolutely role model is and has always been my mother. Raised by a single mom in the post-war years, only 7 years at school – ending up in a great job and living exactly the life she wanted to live. And as I grew older, I realized she was like her mother who was like her mother (my great grandmother). Strong women who stood up for themselves.
What advise would you give to young female students today?
Believe in yourself and be yourself. If somebody don’t want to hire you when you are yourself – for sure this will not be a company, where you can see yourself anyway.
And nothing is only easy (no matter what gender). There will always be ups and downs in your life. Take the lessons learned from the downs and choose to remember the part you want to remember.
Looking into the future, what role do you think STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education will have?
STEM is necessary to understand the world – but add some kind of economy to your education – then the path to the management team will be much easier.